Residents of La Loche, Sask., say a prayer in front of a makeshift memorial at La Loche Community School.(Photo: Jason Franson/CP)

“It’s certainly one of the worst communities for having nothing for youth. I was just talking to the chief and council there last night. We really have to take some dramatic means,” Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations told the New York Times Saturday.

"It is in these moments, when tragedy strikes, that we are able to stop and consider life: it’s frailty, challenges, its laughter, and its tears," reads the statement from Wood's family .

"It is in these moments we are given the opportunity to examine ourselves and hopefully, come out better and stronger as a community and a nation. We feel sadness and remorse but rarely do we use that to fuel change."